Association Representing Weather Companies Endorses Bill to Strengthen Public Access to Weather Information
Commercial Weather Services Association Says S.B. 786 Assures Both Public and Industry Access

April 29, 2005 - The Commercial Weather Services Association (CWSA) announced today its support for Senate Bill 786, "The National Weather Services Duties Act of 2005." S.B. 786, one of three related bills now before Congress, will benefit both the public and the private sector.

The new legislation would require the National Weather Service (NWS) to distribute government generated weather information "in real-time, and without delay . . . in a manner that ensures that all members of the public have the opportunity for simultaneous and equal access." No such requirement currently exists. This will mandate that the public, including users like pilots, boaters and farmers, and the private sector, will all have unrestricted real-time access to government information.

The bill will also update the 115-year-old mission of the NWS to fit within the American weather framework of today, in which both the agency and the Commercial Weather Industry now play important parts in providing weather products, services, systems, networks and communications to the nation.

"Through more than 55 years of innovation by the Commercial Weather Industry and a policy of free and open exchange of government information, the American public has become the beneficiary of the best weather information available anywhere in the world," said Steven Root, President of the Commercial Weather Services Association (CWSA). "Unfortunately, the performance of the National Weather Service in fulfilling its key tasks of collecting and disseminating government information has not always kept pace with public and private needs and critical information the agency possesses is not always reaching the public in time." He added, "Government duplication of existing products and services readily available from the private sector is unnecessary and detracts from the NWS mission of saving lives and property."

CWSA has noticed an increasing number of occurrences where the NWS has not provided timely, key information during hurricanes, floods, and severe snowstorms, exposing the public to heightened and serious danger. Just as alarming, this key information was not made available to the public or the Commercial Weather Industry including the media. Such delayed or missing information has included real-time cooperative observer and snow intensity reports delayed up to twelve hours during a blizzard, hurricane reconnaissance reports delayed during an intensifying storm, and missed flood warnings.

S.B. 786 will provide for better information and warnings to the public by requiring NWS to focus on a defined core mission and adhere to its own non-competition/non-duplication policy, which NWS has had in effect, in one form or another, for over 55 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the parent organization of the NWS, unilaterally repealed this policy in December 2004. This NOAA action is not in accord with long-standing government policies and programs designed to encourage private-sector investment and development of products, services, systems, networks, and communications facilities beneficial to the nation.

The result of the December repeal has been a growing uncertainty and risk for private sector firms engaged in the weather enterprise and threats to jobs throughout the industry. Accordingly, this NOAA action also endangers the very existence of free weather information to the public, an estimated 95% of which comes from the Commercial Weather Industry including the media.

The bill requires the Secretary of Commerce, which directs and controls the operations of NOAA and NWS, to determine what those competitive and duplicative activities are, and requires oversight reports to Congress. The bill does not target any particular government activity for elimination.

S.B. 786 endorses the concept of encouraging private-sector activities and investment, rather than government expenditures, in the American weather sector, a principle which was jointly adopted with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate in November 2004 as part of the appropriations legislation funding the National Weather Service (Conference Report to H.R. 4818). The non-duplication provision of S.B. 786 is also in line with NWSÕs prior policy and the philosophy of national policies on space transportation and other government activities.

"CWSA believes that the public safety and well-being of the nation would best be served by NWS concentrating on its long-standing and critical core missions including disseminating government-generated weather information and issuing severe weather warnings for the protection of life and property of the public. The NWS is the only source of official government weather warnings, government data and computer models, all relied on by numerous users in government, industry and the public," said Root. "Activities that shift the NWS focus away from this mission by duplicating products, services, systems, networks, and communications that are already widely available from the private sector, many free to the public, do not represent appropriate stewardship of public funds."

S.B. 786 was introduced April 14, 2005 by Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA). It is one of three bills currently before Congress that would reexamine and redefine the structure and mission of the National Weather Service and its parent NOAA.

About the Commercial Weather Services Association

The Commercial Weather Services Association is the trade association for professionals who make weather their business. Its members collect, interpret and disseminate weather information to weather-sensitive businesses as well as the general public. In addition, CWSA members engineer a variety of hardware and software systems, including weather sensors and meteorological workstations and operate weather information networks.

For more information about the Commercial Weather Services Association, please visit: www.weatherindustry.org